Academic freedom is under attack on the campuses of Florida's colleges and universities, perhaps none more so than the University of Florida. Recently, we sat down with three university faculty to discuss the current attacks, gain an historical perspective and learn what steps all of us can take to fight these attacks on academic freedom. 

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Guests Andrew Gothard, Ph.D., Florida Atlantic UniversityUnited Faculty of Florida, President, FEA/NEA/AFT/AFL-CIOhttps://myuff.org/officers/    UFF News: https://myuff.org/news-coverage/Paul Ortiz, Ph.D., Department of History, University of Florida and Authorhttps://history.ufl.edu/directory/current-faculty/paul-ortiz/Deandre Poole, Ph.D., School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, Florida Atlantic Universityhttps://www.fau.edu/artsandletters/scms/faculty/poole/

Resources HB 233 Intellectual Freedom Survey* Florida Governor Approves Controversial Bill on Campus ‘Intellectual Freedom’Debate over academic freedom spills into Florida litigation, legislationUF Voting Rights Challenge* United Faculty of Florida list of demands to save academic freedom* A choice for the University of Florida: Academic freedom or government stooge | Editorial* UF task force recommends high bar for blocking faculty from expert testimony against state* Amid free speech concerns, UF declares it is ‘free from undue influence’ Faculty greet the message with skepticism, calling it “superficial.”Book Ban* 850 Books Texas Lawmaker Matt Krause Wants to Ban* A Texas lawmaker is targeting 850 books that he says could make students feel uneasyJohns Committee* Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida: A Report of the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, January, 1964* Behind Closed Doors: The Dark History of the Johns Commit...

National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers presidents Becky Pringle and Randi Weingarten join us to talk about the tangible benefits of union membership like public service loan forgiveness and the dynamic power that comes when there is alignment between the national, state, and local unions and rank-and-file members.

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Guests* Becky Pringle is president of the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States. Learn more about Becky: https://www.nea.org/about-nea/leaders/president* Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFL-CIO, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators. Learn more about Randi:https://www.aft.org/about/leadership/randi-weingarten

Resources * Public service loan forgiveness resources  from AFT: * Public service loan forgiveness resources from NEA* Labor union approval at highest point since 1965 (Gallup)

TranscriptAndrew Spar, President of FEA: Hi, this is FEA President Andrew Spar. To stay on top of all the latest news and issues impacting our public schools be sure to follow FEA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more information on this podcast, visit FEAweb.org/podcast. Sharon Nesvig, Announcer: You're listening to Educating from the Heart. Thank you for joining our lively conversations with teachers, support professionals, parents and students, as they share issues that matter most in our public schools. Here are your hosts, Tina Dunbar and Luke Flynt. Tina Dunbar, Host: Welcome to another episode of Educating from the Heart. I’m Tina with Luke. You know, we've been hearing a lot of educators share concerns over personnel shortages in their schools, and the impact it’s having on the work they do. Now some are even expressing worries over not having enough school supplies to make it to the end of the school year due to rising prices, disruptions in the supply chain and worker shortages in every area of our economy. You know, Luke, people are voluntarily walking away from their jobs or standing up for safety and fighting for better worker rights. We're experiencing an explosion of labor activism in Florida and throughout the nation. Luke Flynt, Host: You know, Tina, I see it too, from the workers at John Deere to Kellogg's, those employed in healthcare to Hollywood. This fall has seen one of the largest increases of organized labor activity in a century. Tina, did you know that during the fall of 2021, up to 100,000 working people have either been on strike or voted to authorize a strike. Tina: Wow.

At Florida Education Association's 2021 Delegate Assembly, we sat down with the newly re-elected leadership of FEA to discuss the challenges facing education in Florida right now and how unions can help to overcome those challenges as well as the officers' vision for what public education should look like in the years ahead.

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GuestsAndrew Spar, FEA PresidentCarole Gauronskas, FEA Vice PresidentNandi Riley, FEA Secretary-Treasurer 

Resources* Learn more about FEA Leadership* Check out FEA History

TranscriptAndrew Spar, President of FEA: Hi, this is FEA President Andrew Spar. To stay on top of all the latest news and issues impacting our public schools, be sure to follow FEA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more information on this podcast, visit FEAweb.org/podcast.  Sharon Nesvig, Announcer: You’re listening to Educating from the Heart. Thank you for joining our lively conversations with teachers, support professionals, parents and students as they share issues that matter most in our public schools. Here are your hosts Tina Dunbar and Luke Flynt.  Tina Dunbar, Host: Hello, and welcome to Educating from the Heart. I’m Tina, and I’m here with Luke Flynt.  Luke Flynt, Host: Hello!  Tina: We have been so busy lately because we’ve been involved in a very important event. You know, every fall the Florida Education Association hosts its annual meeting called the Delegate Assembly, or the DA as some call it. At this event hundreds upon hundreds of members unite to discuss important education issues and policies. They elect leaders and set and organizational path for the future. Educators also take time to recognize important events. So, Luke, I’d like to open this episode by saying congratulations for 20 plus one years of merger.  Luke: Congratulations indeed. It really is a big deal. Let me give a little history lesson for the listeners that might not know that FEA used to be two separate unions of educators. Following years of competition between both organizations, the FEA United and FTP, the Florida Teaching Profession NEA, they decided it would be smarter to begin working together instead of against one another. After years of talk, the two unions merged into one much larger and more powerful organization in the year 2000.  Tina: And now 20 plus one years later the FEA is considered the largest labor union in the South, representing public school teachers throughout Florida. We’ve accomplished a lot since 2000, and we firmly stood together through adversity and some challenging times. Our success is directly related to our strong leadership.  Luke: To the newly elected leadership: Congratulations! And I guess where I want to start is at some point, everybody was just an infant in their union journey. Right? But before you even become a delegate or a local leader or a state leader, you make a decision to become involved in your local union. So share with us why did you decide to get involved in your local union in the first place? And President Spar I’ll start with you.   Andrew Spar, President of FEA: First and foremost, I grew up in New York, just outside of New York City. And my mom was a teacher and a member of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers. And so, it was just kind of in me, that when you come into the profession, you join your union. And so that's what I did. Right when we started out in the new teacher orientation, I joined,

Educators believe training students to think critically involves lessons that dive deep to explore all sides of the issue. However, a recent rule passed by the State Board of Education restricts what students can be exposed to. This type of censorship hurts students and educators alike. For this month’s episode of Educating from the Heart, we sat down with Megan Young, a high school English teacher in St. Johns County to talk about the new rule impacts teaching and learning in her classroom.

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Megan Young, English Teacher, St. Johns County

Resources

* Florida Statute 1003.42 Required Instruction 

* Florida State Board of Education Rule 6A-1.094124 on required instruction 

* 1860 Florida census map

* Ocoee on Fire: The 1920 Election Day Massacre 

* Sen. Bracy's Push for College Scholarships and a Feature Film on the Ocoee Massacre of 1920 Gets Funded (Apopka Voice)

* The Truth Laid Bare: Lessons from the Ocoee Massacre (Pegasus, The Magazine of the University of Central Florida)

* Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex

* Justice at Last: Brevard School Board Acknowledges Unjust Firing of Civil Rights Leaders (Florida Today)

* Florida Education Association letter urging Brevard County Schools to adopt resolution recognizing Harry and Harriette Moore as teachers emeritus 

* Photo of the Moores' house after the bombing 

Works Mentioned

* Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

* No Man is an Island by John Donne

* Anthem by Ayn Rand

Transcript

[00:00:00]FEA President Andrew Spar:  Hi, this is FEA President Andrew Spar.  To stay on top of all the latest news and issues impacting our public schools. Be sure to follow FEA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more information on this podcast visit FEAweb.org/podcast.

[00:00:17]Sharon Nesvig, Announcer:  You're listening to educating from the heart. Thank you for joining our lively conversations with teachers, support professionals, parents and students, as they share issues that matter most in our public schools. Here are your hosts, Tina Dunbar and Luke Flynt.

[00:00:43] Luke Flynt, Host: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and endowed by th...

Being an educator is always hard work. As we enter the third school year impacted by Covid, being an educator is harder than ever. Before the start of the 2021-22 school year, we sat down with a veteran high school history teacher to discuss the upcoming school year. Filled with equal parts optimism and concern for the year ahead, Elizabeth Rasmussen shares the importance of taking charge, engaging in advocacy and being the change she wants to see.

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Elizabeth Rasmussen, History teacher Polk County

Resources

* Polk Schools have more than 400 openings (Lakeland Ledger)

* FL Grapples with Record COVID Surge (NBC News)

* FEA’s Safe Schools Report

* Florida Has A Critical Shortage Of Teachers. Here’s Why. (WFME, NPR) featuring FEA VP Carole Gauronskas.

* Why is FL DOE behind on getting billions of federal dollars to schools recovering from COVID pandemic?

Transcript

[00:00:00] Announcer: Sharon: You're listening to “Educating from the Heart.” Thank you for joining our lively conversations with teachers, support professionals, parents, and students, as they share issues that matter most in our public schools. Here are your hosts, Tina Dunbar and Luke Flynt.

[00:00:27] Tina Dunbar, Host: Welcome back to “Educating from the Heart,” the Florida Education Association podcast for teachers, support professionals, parents, community leaders and students. Together, we engage in monthly conversations, exploring all aspects of education and the impacts of policy decisions on our students and their schools. I'm Tina Dunbar, and with me is my co-host, Luke Flynt. Hey, Luke!

[00:00:53] Luke Flynt, Host: Hey, Tina.

[00:00:54] Tina: Good to see you again.

[00:00:55] Luke: You too.

[00:00:56] Tina: Well, after our brief summer break, we're back to kickoff season two of “Educating from the Heart.” I am so excited, and I know you are too, because we've got a lot planned for this season.

[00:01:07] Luke: Absolutely, Tina. This season, we're going to talk about everything from teaching accurate history and civics in today's K-12 classrooms, to the attack on academic freedom at Florida's colleges and universities. And, of course, during the legislative session, we will keep everybody updated on what's happening in the State Capitol. But let's back up a bit and talk about this month's episode.

[00:01:31] Tina: Well, Luke, as you know, back in July FEA held its annual professional development gathering called Summer Academy.

It's our largest training for teachers and support professionals from across the state. And it was held in-person and, you know, everybody was looking forward to that. So, we decided to take the podcast on the road. Well, educators generally take advantage of this event and network with their colleagues, and one of the top conversations dealt with the new school year and the unknowns surrounding the virus...

Florida’s fiscal year starts on July 1 and for the first time our state’s budget exceeds $100 billion. Despite the record level of funding, this budget again budget fails veteran teachers, the experienced professionals we’re struggling to keep in classrooms, and it fails to reward the support staff who are essential to educating our students. You’ll hear details on the new state budget including what it will mean for student, educators, and schools along with a discussion of how educators can regain control of the profession moving forward.

Buried on the Florida Department of Education website is on sentence that informs parents diplomas from private schools that accept vouchers might not be considered valid by colleges or employers. Unfortunately, many students and parents find out too late that voucher school education leaves them unprepared for life after school. In this episode, we talk to a parent whose son fell victim to such a school as well as an education advocate who helps students and parents who suffer in Florida’s voucher schools.

For years, the Florida legislature has been chipping away at public education in an attempt to have a wholly privatized system. This legislative session, House Bill 7045 will provide for a massive expansion of vouchers to unaccountable private and religious schools. In the first episode of a two-part series, we explore the harm that continued privatization of schools inflicts on Florida’s most vulnerable students and communities.

Read the transcript from Episode 5

Florida’s pension plan could disappear under a proposed measure being considered during the 2021 session. Lawmakers are looking to close the ‘Defined Benefit’ option of the Florida Retirement System (FRS) to all new hires beginning July 2022. The FRS is currently funded at 82%, which means the program would only pay out 82 cents on each benefit dollar it owes to its retirees. The FRS remains one of the top performers in the nation.

This isn’t the first attempt to modify portions of the FRS. You’ll hear in the discussion grave concerns the change could have a devastating impact on the state economy and all Floridians. Some educators looking to retiree are asking why state leaders choose this time to force the change. The response from current retirees: The legislature is taking advantage of the pandemic to destroy the lives of hard working Floridians who rely on their retirement for survival.

Guests

* Patrick Strong, Okaloosa Education Staff Professionals President; EBD paraprofessional currently planning for retirement

* Janice Poirier, FEA-Retired President; Retired teacher, who retired following 33 years

* Ron Pollard, Orange Education Support Professionals, President; Custodian; retiree who returned to work

* Yale Olenick, FEA Legislative Specialist

Show Resources

* Actuarial analysis of Senate Concepts (PDF)

* Florida’s public pension plan works just fine. But lawmakers need to fully fund it. (Miami Herald, Op-Ed)

* SB 84 info on feaweb.org

* Top 100 Largest State Pension Plans (Florida ranks 18 out of 100)

* State Fiscal Stability Rankings (Florida ranks 8th)

You will not want to miss this month’s podcast where three powerful education advocates, including UTD President Karla Matz, sit down to discuss this year’s standardized tests, whether there should be any high-stakes consequences and if students and parents should just opt out of the state testing altogether